Winter/Spring Events Programme - January - April 2019 - seamusheaneyhome.com - Seamus Heaney HomePlace
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*Cover artwork designed by Donna Lynch, Creative Learning Officer at Seamus Heaney HomePlace and made by our visitors to the exhibition 2 seamusheaneyhome.com
Chair’s Foreword With the New Year brings a new exciting Events Programme. As we move into 2019 it is clear to see that the Winter / Spring programme promises to entertain and inspire. Looking through the programme, theatre Our programme always reflects a strong and film is a prominent theme in this acknowledgment of the contribution season’s line up of events. January kicks it female writers are making to literature all off with A Joycean Epiphany. This and this one is no different; Female Lines: evening will take inspiration from the Women Writers and Post –Agreement work of James Joyce and includes Molly, a Northern Ireland features a special 45 minute show followed by a screening appearance from Monica McWilliams. of John Huston’s masterpiece, The Dead. Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy will join us Moving on throughout January I’m to read from her work, and to top it all off, delighted to see the return of Mid Ulster’s in April, Bronagh Gallagher and Susan Anne Tracey and friends for More Music, Lynch will read a selection of poems from Poems and Songs for the Soul. Carol Ann Duffy’s most famous collection The World’s Wife. February brings an event that speaks volumes about what HomePlace holds at Whatever you decide to attend this its core; ‘Getting Started, Keeping Going’: season we hope you enjoy your Emerging Voices. Seamus Heaney was experience at HomePlace. always a keen supporter and champion of new and emerging poets and this event Is mise le meas. will welcome four of the brightest new poetic voices from Ireland to The Helicon stage. Later in February, HomePlace will Councillor Seán McPeake host not one, but two Booker Prize Chair winners, Anne Enright and Roddy Doyle. Mid Ulster District Council Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 3
Derry Donegal Bellaghy Belfast Galway Dublin Limerick Only 45mins from Belfast and Derry, 2hr 30mins from Dublin 54.8077° N, 6.5213° W Free car and coach parking. Café serving delicious, locally sourced food. Gift shop.
Step into HomePlace Immerse yourself in the extraordinary world of Seamus Heaney’s poetry, and explore through his words and imagination the people and place that so inspired him. Described by Michael Longley as ‘an echo chamber for the poet’s beautiful lines’, Seamus Heaney HomePlace features an interactive exhibition over two floors, filled with personal stories, images and the voice of the poet himself. An interpretation of his Dublin study will transport you back to 1995, when Seamus Heaney was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Previously unseen artefacts, transcripts and books kindly donated by the Heaney family are also on display, ensuring a truly unique and illuminating experience for all. You can also explore our gift shop, featuring bespoke ranges by local craft- makers influenced by the surrounding landscape and, of course, the work of Seamus Heaney. For more information and to book tickets contact the Box Office on 028 7938 7444 or visit www.SeamusHeaneyHome.com Ticket Prices: Adult £7, child £4.50, concession £4.50, family £19 Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 5
The HomePlace Café During your visit to Seamus Heaney HomePlace, why not drop into the HomePlace Café? Open seven days a week, the HomePlace Café serves breakfast, lunch and afternoon treats, using locally sourced ingredients, making it the perfect spot to begin or end your visit. Serving everything from homemade quiche to Irish stew, the café also stocks speciality teas and coffees to have in or take away. The HomePlace Café can also cater for larger bookings and for groups of 15 people or more you can pre-book any refreshments to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience. The HomePlace Café is open for 30 minutes before and after our events in The Helicon, so why not enjoy a coffee or a glass of wine in relaxed surroundings before taking your seat. 6 seamusheaneyhome.com
January MORE MUSIC, POEMS & SONGS FOR THE SOUL Following on from the success of last year’s sell-out show, Anne Tracey and friends return to The Helicon to start the New Year with words, wit and warmth. Saturday 12 January at 2pm I Tickets: £8 Join some of Mid-Ulster’s finest talent for an afternoon of song, music and poetry exploring the emotional pull of home. Words and music that spring from their home place promise nourishment for both heart and soul. Singers Anne Tracey and Roy Arbuckle are supported by musicians Michael Corey and Eddie O’Donnell and poetry will be read by Moneymore poet, Maura Johnston. Brendan Corey, who lives in Long Island, will return to HomePlace this year to share his songs of place. Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 7
A JOYCEAN EPIPHANY An evening of events taking inspiration from the work of James Joyce On the eve of the Feast of the Epiphany, HomePlace is delighted to present an evening of theatre and cinema inspired by the work of James Joyce. At 7pm we will present Molly – a new piece of theatre from Tara Breathnach. This 45-minute show will be followed by an interval where the audience can enjoy traditional Epiphany cake Galette Des Rois before a screening of John Huston’s final masterpiece The Dead. Saturday 5 January at 7pm I Tickets: £12 MOLLY Adapted by Tara Breathnach ‘a beautiful piece of performance... a must see’ from Ulysess by James Joyce Molly is a provocative new adaptation Reviews Hub of Joyce’s final soliloquy in Ulysses. Molly lies awake, plagued by insomnia, wind and her husband’s snoring, and bares her soul as she questions her life choices. This vibrant presentation reveals the woman behind the oft-misrepresented caricature; earthy and witty yet vulnerable and sensual. A caustic wit is matched with searing honesty in her night-time musings. Molly’s observations on relationships strike a chord with contemporary audiences and her unashamed sexuality is startlingly modern. Molly Bloom is here liberated from the weight of literature in a fresh and revealing portrayal. Performed by IFTA-nominated actress Tara Breathnach (A Nightingale Falling, Jack Taylor) and directed by Petal Pilley (Blue Teapot Theatre Company, Footsbarn). Please note: this production contains strong language and is suitable for ages 16 and over. 8 seamusheaneyhome.com
THE DEAD The Dead is the final film from legendary director John Huston and is considered his masterpiece. One of the finest literary adaptations in cinema history, The Dead is based on the final story in James Joyce’s collection Dubliners. Starring Anjelica Huston and Donal McCann, The Dead focuses on Gabriel Conroy and his wife Gretta who are attending an early January Epiphany dinner with friends at the home of his spinster aunts. As the evening progresses, Gretta reminisces on a long lost love which results in a very different kind of epiphany for the couple. Atmospheric, infused with a beautiful melancholy and featuring career-best performances from McCann and Huston, this is a great opportunity to see The Dead in a cinema setting. Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 9
AN EVENING WITH WILLY VLAUTIN Featuring David Torrans Born and raised in Reno, Nevada, Willy Vlautin started playing guitar and writing songs as a teenager and quickly became immersed in music, founding the band Richmond Fontaine in 1994. The band produced eleven studio albums, all driven by Vlautin’s dark, story-like song writing. Tuesday 22 January at 7.30pm I Tickets: £12 ‘WillyVlautin is one of the bravest novelists writing… it takes real courage to write a novel about ordinary good people.’ Ursula K LeGuin A Paul Kelly song, based on a Raymond Carver short story inspired him to start writing and to date he has published five novels: The Motel Life, Northline, Lean On Pete (now a critically acclaimed film starring Steve Buscemi), The Free and his latest, Don’t Skip Out On Me. Like Seamus Heaney, Vlautin is drawn to tales about ordinary people living tough, everyday lives and, like Heaney, his work shines with compassion. Join Willy as he chats to David Torrans from No Alibis Bookstore about his music and writing career and performs some of his best-loved tunes and the music that provides the soundtrack to his books. 10 seamusheaneyhome.com
February SO SING ON WITH DAVID KITT Fresh from releasing his first solo album for nine years, David Kitt has a new found sense of freedom bound up in themes of renewal, movement, and a constant reshaping of his musical preoccupations. Saturday 2 February at 8pm I Tickets: £15 His new album Yous is a finely wrought and elemental piece of work, folding in electronic beats that ground carefully fingerpicked guitars and stirring violin, weaving between glorious pop-kissed melodies and starker, poignant compositions. Yous is one of Kitt’s best and most personal musical statements to date, and we are delighted to welcome him to The Helicon, performing along with violinist Margie Jean Lewis. Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 11
Powerstone Entertainment presents THE SUITCASE by Jane Coyle ‘Or the abstract, lonely curve of distant trains As we entered history and ignorance.’ ‘A Sofa in the Forties’, Seamus Heaney Seamus Heaney HomePlace is joining with Powerstone Entertainment to host a performance of The Suitcase by Jane Coyle in commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day 2019. Friday 8 February at 7.30pm I Tickets: £10 In Vienna, a young Jewish dancer dreams of her future. In Belfast, an elderly man revisits his painful past. At its centre is the discovery of a suitcase in the house of the late Leo Edelmann, a Holocaust survivor from Berlin, who settled and raised a family in Belfast. This is a moving examination of the small personal stories that collectively formed the Holocaust from the company that brought Both Sides to HomePlace last year. This performance will be followed by a post-show discussion, facilitated by the Institute for Conflict Research. This event is supported by The Executive Office through District Council Good Relations Programme supported by Mid Ulster District Council. 12 seamusheaneyhome.com
ANNE ENRIGHT IN CONVERSATION with Paul McVeigh Booker Prize-winning novelist Anne Enright is one of the most celebrated writers working in Ireland today. Her work is part of a great tradition of Irish writing that explores themes of family life, relationships, love, repression and memory. Saturday 9 February at 3pm I Tickets: £15 Enright won the 2007 Booker Prize for her novel The Gathering, a story about the pull of family and the lure of home. Her first novel was The Wig My Father Wore and subsequent works have included What Are You Like?, The Forgotten Waltz and her most recent The Green Road. Her awards also include the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Encore Award and the Irish Novel of the Year. From 2015 to 2018 she was the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction and we are delighted to welcome her to The Helicon where she will talk about her work and career with novelist Paul McVeigh. Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 13
‘The dragon began to belch out flames and burn bright homesteads; there was a hot glow that scared everyone, for the vile sky-winger would leave nothing alive in its wake.’ Beowulf, Seamus Heaney Dragons from Beowulf to Game of Thrones 'FIRE MADE FLESH’: With Dr Carolyne Larrington Friday 15 February at 7.30pm I Tickets: £8 Fire-breathing dragons and their poison-spitting relatives are thankfully rare in Ireland. In this talk Carolyne Larrington uncovers the history and development of the British idea of the dragon, from its earliest appearance in Beowulf, to the dragons of folklore, via Tolkien's Smaug, and Daenerys’s monstrous children in Game of Thrones. In this fascinating talk, we’ll ask how do these fiery dragons differ from their serpentine cousins and what they signify for the poets and writers, including Seamus Heaney, who have given them life? 14 seamusheaneyhome.com
‘Getting started, keeping going, getting started again – in art and in life, it seems to me this is the essential rhythm not only of achievement but of survival’ Seamus Heaney ‘GETTING STARTED, KEEPING GOING’: EMERGING VOICES A poetry reading with Matthew Rice, Shannon Kelly, Scott McKendry and Caitlin Newby, introduced by Damian Smyth. Saturday 16 February at 3pm I Tickets: £8 Seamus Heaney was always a keen supporter and champion of new and emerging poets and in this special event we are delighted to welcome four of the brightest new poetic voices currently based in Northern Ireland and Ireland and working towards their debut collections. Caitlin Newby was born in Los Angeles. She has had poems and translations published in Ambit, Oxford Poetry, and Poetry Ireland Review and is the poetry editor of The Tangerine. Scott McKendry is currently studying towards a PhD in poetry at Queen’s University, Belfast. His work was included in the future always makes me so thirsty: New Poets from the North of Ireland (2016) and his poems have also been published in The North, The Tangerine and Poetry Ireland Review. Shannon Kelly’s writing and translation have appeared in Poetry Ireland Review, Crannog and The Irish Times. She was selected for the Poetry Ireland Introductions Series 2018, and was named one of the 50 best new Irish and British Poets in the same year. She was the 2016 winner of the Allingham Festival poetry competition and holds an MA in Creative Writing from NUI Galway. Matthew Rice was born in Belfast. His poems have appeared on both sides of the Atlantic, featuring in Poetry Ireland Review, The Tangerine and in the anthology The Best New British and Irish Poets 2017 (Eyewear), edited by Luke Kennard. He was awarded runner-up in the Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing 2017, and selected for the Poetry Ireland Introductions Series 2017. This will be a chance to catch these talented poets at the start of their burgeoning careers, introduced by writer and poet Damian Smyth. Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 15
AN AFTERNOON WITH RODDY DOYLE With Nadine O’Regan If Seamus Heaney has come to symbolise Bellaghy and its surrounds, then Roddy Doyle undoubtedly personifies his native city of Dublin. Saturday 23 February at 3pm I Tickets: £15 In a career spanning three decades, Doyle has become one of the best-loved and most recognisable writers of his generation. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories, from The Barrytown Trilogy to The Woman Who Walked Into Doors, the Booker Prize-winning Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha to Smile. And with a new film, Rosie, and a new book, Charlie Savage, due for release in the coming year, he continues to be a writer at the peak of his creative powers. We are delighted to welcome Roddy to HomePlace where he will talk with journalist and broadcaster Nadine O’Regan about his work. 16 seamusheaneyhome.com
March ULSTER ORCHESTRA – ON YOUR DOORSTEP Players from the Ulster Orchestra return to Bellaghy with a programme which mirrors a key theme of the full Orchestra for 2018/19, the pairing of Richard Strauss and Dmitri Shostakovich. Saturday 2 March at 8pm I Tickets: £12 We’ll hear Strauss’ virtuosic orchestral masterpiece Till Eulenspiegel in an astonishing version for just five players, and Shostakovich’s own reduction for quartet of two of his own pieces originally written for larger forces. The programme is completed by Beethoven’s glorious Septet for strings, clarinet and horn. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear the Orchestra’s principal players in the truly intimate space of The Helicon. Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 17
THE ICONIC WORLD OF FABER COVER DESIGN With Theo Ingils, Eleanor Crow and Deborah Payne, chaired by Dr Ruth Brolly Thursday 7 March at 7.30pm I Tickets: £10 When you think of Seamus Heaney’s Death of a Naturalist, one of the things that immediately springs to mind is that iconic cover to the original edition, designed by Bertholde Wolpe. A German-Jewish typographer recently returned from an Australian internment camp, Wolpe created the Albertus font and, due to financial constraints after the war, designed the Faber book covers by hand. His striking font and the simplicity of his designs gave these jackets a distinctive quality that became strongly identified with Faber’s brand and has continued to inspire generations of designers. Join graphic designer and writer Theo Ingils; Eleanor Crow, Senior Designer at Faber & Faber and Donna Payne, Creative Director at Faber & Faber, as they discuss Wolpe’s work, the early Heaney covers and the evolving nature of book cover design. 18 seamusheaneyhome.com
THE WHETSTONE: MAURA JOHNSTON BOOK LAUNCH Saturday 9 March at 3pm I Tickets are free, but must be booked in advance Local poet Maura Johnston was born in Moneymore and has lived there for the past forty-three years. Since her retirement from full-time employment in education, she has worked with children in cross-community projects; on writing projects with a variety of groups; has compiled a booklet with nine schools for Seamus Heaney on his seventieth birthday, and with six schools produced a book of poetry for the opening of the Seamus Heaney HomePlace. She is writer-in-residence at the Palace Stables and at the Navan Centre, Armagh. Her first collection of poetry, Just Suppose, was published in 2000, and this, her second, The Whetstone, has been long awaited. The Whetstone is a collection that is grounded in place and shines with integrity and wisdom. Johnston’s poems have a startling honesty regarding intimacy and relationships, and a lasting warmth for her own family in all their generations; for neighbours and the mores of this particular part of the Sperrins. We at HomePlace are delighted to host this launch along with Summer Palace Press. Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 19
AN EVENING WITH ARBORIST and special guests MALOJIAN and CONOR MASON Join us in The Helicon for an evening showcasing the best of musical talent performing in Northern Ireland today. Saturday 16 March at 8pm I Tickets: £12.50 Arborist released their debut album Home Burial in 2016 to critical acclaim. Featuring lush arrangements of strings and brass as well as the vocals of Kim Deal (Pixies), it was nominated for the NI Music Prize. Natives of Ballymena, Maghera, Bangor and Belfast, Arborist are returning with their follow-up album A Northern View which will be released in February 2019. Recorded in Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, A Northern View is an album of pastoral themes and curious love songs and is a worthy successor to their lauded debut. Joining Arborist on this St Patrick’s Eve will be three time NI Music Prize nominee Malojian and Conor Mason, making this a magical evening not to be missed. 20 seamusheaneyhome.com
DESERT ISLAND POEMS A World Poetry Day Celebration with Frank Ormsby, Moyra Donaldson and Alice Lyons, chaired by Paul Maddern Thursday 21 March at 7.30pm I Tickets: £10 Picture the scene: you are stranded on a desert island with nothing but poetry to sustain you. What three collections would you take with you if they were all you had to read? To celebrate World Poetry Day, three poets join Paul Maddern to talk about the collections they would choose, what those collections mean to them and also, in true desert island style, which single volume of Seamus Heaney’s poetry they would also like to be stranded with! Celebrated poets Frank Ormsby, Alice Lyons and Moyra Donaldson will be making the hard decisions in this celebration of what poetry means to us on World Poetry Day. Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 21
• Photo credit: Dominic Martella FICTIONAL LIVES: FRANK MCGUINNESS IN CONVERSATION WITH NUALA O’CONNOR One of Ireland’s most respected and successful playwrights, Frank McGuinness has towered over Irish theatre for the last 30 years. Saturday 23 March at 3pm I Tickets: £12 Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me and The Factory Girls have cemented his reputation as one of our greatest writers. Like Heaney, he has become known for his adaptations of literary classics such as Sophocles’ Electra and Chekhov’s Three Sisters. His latest novel, The Woodcutter and his Family, takes another famous writer, James Joyce, and imagines his last days as told from the point of view of his family. Frank will be in conversation with writer Nuala O’Connor, who has written fictionalised accounts of the lives of famous figures – Emily Dickinson and Isabel Bilton – to discuss his wide-ranging career and the lure of creating a new fiction out of a real life. 22 seamusheaneyhome.com
Ulster Theatre Company presents THE LONG NOW By Sam Burnside By Sam Burnside, Directed and designed by Michael Poyner “Memory is general to all, while memories are unique to each of us. Memory is shared, but my memories are mine, warmed or cooled, sweetened or embittered with time’s passing.” Friday 29 March at 8pm I Tickets: £10 ‘I remember as a child being a passenger in a big black car on one dark evening. I remember sitting low in the front passenger seat, looking up and out through the windscreen, the passing world of tree tops and cloud-filled sky being cut like scenes in a film with that mesmeric rhythm of the windscreen wipers. Do I remember, or do I imagine the sound of the wipers, the warmth of the car, and the smell of the smoke of my mother’s cigarette? I do not know but I imagine I remember the truth of that experience.’ With two actors, projections, live music underscore and a soundscaped chorus, The Long Now explores one man’s memories of growing up in County Antrim in the 1950s set against the ripples of external political, economic and cultural forces that were to impact so forcibly on life here during that time. Featuring Sam Burnside’s poetic language, The Long Now is an evocative exploration of memory, childhood and hope. Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 23
FEMALE LINES: WOMEN WRITERS AND POST-AGREEMENT NORTHERN IRELAND With Jan Carson, Anne Devlin, Dawn Miranda Sherratt-Bado, Colette Bryce, Susan McKay and special guest Monica McWilliams, chaired by Freya McClements Saturday 30 March at 7.30pm I Tickets: £10 In 1985, The Female Line: Northern Irish Women Writers was published by the Northern Ireland Women’s Rights Movement. It was the first-ever anthology of literature by women writers from Northern Ireland, a remarkable feat as it was published amidst the Troubles. Now, over 30 years later, Female Lines: New Writing by Women from Northern Ireland – a stunning mosaic of work by some of the best contemporary women writers from Northern Ireland – acts as a sequel to its vibrant feminist predecessor. Female Lines showcases the work of 33 Northern women authors, and it explores what it means for women to write in a time of ‘post-conflict’. Published by New Island Books in 2017, Female Lines features work by some of the best contemporary women writers from Northern Ireland and its diaspora. Join us for a celebration of women writers and their role in post-Agreement Northern Ireland. This event features guest speaker Monica McWilliams, co-founder of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition, as well as a panel discussion led by journalist Freya McClements and including Female Lines co-editor Dawn Miranda Sherratt-Bado; poet Colette Bryce; fiction writer Jan Carson; playwright Anne Devlin and journalist Susan McKay. 24 seamusheaneyhome.com
April SEAMUS HEANEY LIFECYCLE TOUR WITH EUGENE KIELT Saturday 6 April at 11am (tour lasts approximately two and a half hours) I Tickets: £12 This guided coach tour of the landscape made famous by Seamus Heaney’s poetry is led by local man, accredited tour guide and Heaney specialist Eugene Kielt. This is a wonderful way to explore the ‘home ground’ in which Heaney was rooted and so influenced his poetry. Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 25
CAROL ANN DUFFY Long a leading voice in British literature, Carol Ann Duffy is the first female Poet Laureate in the role's 400 year history. Friday 5 April at 7.30pm I Tickets: £17.50 Her combination of tenderness and toughness, humour and lyricism, unconventional attitudes and conventional forms, has won her a wide and devoted audience of readers and listeners. Throughout her life, Duffy has written for both children and adults, and her poetry has received many awards, including the Signal Prize for Children’s Verse, the Whitbread and Forward Prizes, as well as the Lannan Award and the E. M. Forster Prize in America. She became Poet Laureate in 2009 and was named a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2015. We are honoured to welcome Carol Ann Duffy to The Helicon to read and talk about her work. 'In the world of British poetry Carol Ann Duffy is a superstar' The Guardian 26 seamusheaneyhome.com
THE WORLD’S WIFE With Bronagh Gallagher, Susan Lynch plus special guests and featuring original music performed by Ursula Burns. In conjunction with the visit to HomePlace by Carol Ann Duffy, we are delighted to present this staged reading of arguably her most famous collection of poetry, The World’s Wife Saturday 6 April at 7.30pm I Tickets: £20 Behind every famous man is a great woman, and from the quick-tongued Mrs Darwin to the lascivious Frau Freud, from the adoring Queen Kong to the long- suffering wife of the Devil himself, each one steps from her counterpart’s shadow to tell her side of the story in this irresistible collection. Original, subversive, full of imagination and quicksilver wit, The World’s Wife is Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy at her beguiling best. A selection of poems from The World’s Wife will be read by two of Ireland’s best actors – Bronagh Gallagher and Susan Lynch, with special guests to be announced. The event will also feature specially commissioned original music by Ursula Burns and promises to be an unmissable evening celebrating the untold stories behind the greatest fairy tales, myths and legends. Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 27
POP-UP PICTURE WORKSHOP! With Kim Montgomery Paddington’s adventures in his new movie all stem from the secrets hidden within a pop-up book of his home-town of London. Easter Tuesday 23 April at 9.30am and 12.30pm I Cost: £20 Come along to this fun workshop with Kim Montgomery and make your own pop-up picture of landmarks close to your home – you can even hide your secrets within your pop-up creation! Suitable for 8 to 12 years. All materials are provided. 28 seamusheaneyhome.com
August PADDINGTON 2 Paddington, that loveable bear, has finally found his perfect home, but for how long? Easter Tuesday 23 April at 3pm I Tickets: £5/ £3 concession Running Time: 103 mins, Certificate: PG Now happily settled with the Brown family and a popular member of the local community, he spots a beautiful pop-up book that he knows would make the perfect birthday gift for his beloved Aunt Lucy. When a thief steals the prized book, Paddington embarks on an epic quest to unmask the culprit before Aunt Lucy's big celebration. Starring Hugh Grant, Brendan Gleeson and Sally Hawkins Paddington 2 is a fun-filled sequel that will warm your heart. Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 29
ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND AT HOMEPLACE Join us across a series of events on Friday 26 April and Saturday 27 April for a weekend filled with music and literature. From world-class literary star David Mitchell to home grown musical legend Luka Bloom, this is a weekend of events not to be missed. Friday 26 April / John Kelly with special guest Loah 8pm Saturday 27 April / David Mitchell in Conversation 2pm So Sing On with Luka Bloom 8pm To celebrate this special weekend, we are delighted to offer a weekend ticket with a 25% discount for £30. Simply book for all the three events at the same time to avail of the saving. Why not make a weekend of it and stay in the Mid-Ulster area? Visit SeamusHeaneyhome.com where you will find information on one of the many local accommodation options. 30 seamusheaneyhome.com
JOHN KELLY with special guest LOAH Join us for a very special evening of poetry and music as writer and broadcaster John Kelly reads from his new poetry collection, Notions, in the company of acclaimed musician Loah. Friday 26 April at 8pm I Tickets: £10 For many years John has been at the forefront of music and arts broadcasting in Ireland. Having presented The View on RTÉ television for 12 seasons, and assorted programmes for BBC NI before that, he now fronts The Works Presents. Known for his wide-ranging knowledge of music he has also presented some of the best-loved and most critically acclaimed music programmes on the Irish airwaves, including his current show, Mystery Train on RTÉ Lyric FM. John’s deep love of music informs his writing. As a journalist he has written extensively for many publications he is the author of three novels, The Little Hammer, Sophisticated Boom Boom and From Out of the City, which was shortlisted for Irish Novel of the Year at the Bord Gáis Irish Book Awards 2014. Notions is his debut poetry collection, and was published in October 2017 by Dedalus Press. Loah is Sallay Matu Garnett, an artist of Irish/ Sierra Leonean origin who grew up between Maynooth and West Africa. She performs a unique blend of genre- bending Afro-soul which she calls ‘ArtSoul’ and has released several stunning singles and a debut EP, This Heart. Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 31
DAVID MITCHELL IN CONVERSATION With John Kelly David Mitchell is the award-winning and bestselling author of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, Black Swan Green, Cloud Atlas, Number9Dream, Ghostwritten and The Bone Clocks. Saturday 27 April at 2pm I Tickets: £15 Twice shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Mitchell was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME magazine in 2007. With KA Yoshida, Mitchell co-translated from the Japanese the international bestselling memoir, The Reason I Jump. In 2018 he received the Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence, given in recognition of a writer’s entire body of work, and which was previously won by Seamus Heaney. We are delighted to welcome David to HomePlace to talk about his career with writer and broadcaster John Kelly. ‘Mitchell is, clearly, a genius. He writes as though at the helm of some perpetual dream machine.’ The New York Times 32 seamusheaneyhome.com
August SO SING ON with LUKA BLOOM A singer and songwriter whose music is defined by passion, lyricism, and a respect of tradition coupled with a willingness to defy expectations, Luka Bloom is one of Ireland's best-respected contemporary folk artists. Saturday 27 April at 8pm I Tickets: £15 He has been writing and recording now for almost 40 years and always returns to the words and to the song. His latest album, Refuge, creates a home within music and in 2013 he published a book of photos, essays and verse, aptly called Homeplace. We will welcome Luka to our HomePlace in The Helicon as he performs his best-loved songs in this intimate solo gig. ‘The very embodiment of the folk singer, Luka Bloom has that deep sense of social justice with an uncanny ability to distil contemporary life into the pithiest and most alluring combinations of lyrics and melody lines.’ The Irish Times Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 33
THE HOMEPLACE BOOK CLUB With Carol O’Doherty and Patricia Broderick Come along for some entertaining conversation and the shared love of a good book! Time: 3pm - 4.30pm I Cost: £3 A story is always better if you have someone to share it with and what better spot to meet and share stories than HomePlace? Join Carol and Patricia for this relaxed and friendly book club. Meeting monthly, the club chooses accessible and entertaining books relating to themes found in Seamus Heaney’s work. Dates and books for the Winter/ Spring season are: Sunday 6 January – The Gathering by Anne Enright Sunday 3 February – Don’t Skip Out On Me by Willy Vlautin Sunday 3 March – The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger Sunday 7 April – Slade House by David Mitchell 34 seamusheaneyhome.com
Workshops THE POWER OF WORDS with Michelle Gibb This fun and enlightening session will show you how to create and keep positive lifestyle habits using the power of words, whatever your preferred form of creative expression. WOVEN WILLOW IRISH HARES This interactive session will discuss topics with Clive Lyttle such as how habits are formed through words, subconscious programming, writing ‘The man the hare has met with coherence, the importance of gratitude will never be the better of it except he lay down on the land and the impact of words. How do the words what he carries in his hand—’ we use define us? How do words impact us physically and emotionally? Who is writing your story? ‘The Names of the Hare’, Seamus Heaney Learn how simple changes to words and habits can shift your mind-set to make a happier, healthier and ultimately more Join Clive Lyttle from Welig Heritage relaxed and creative you. Bring your journal Crafts as he leads this hands-on and leave with a simple, practical toolkit workshop where you will create your packed full of positivity. very own willow hare for decorative use in your home or garden. Michelle Gibb is a poet, life coach and yoga teacher whose work has been published locally by A New Ulster and nationally by No experience is necessary, all United Press. She is qualified in kinesiology, materials will be provided and places hatha yoga and energy medicine and has on this course are limited to 8. been practicing yoga, mindfulness and meditation as well as facilitating groups for Saturday 2 March or over ten years. Sunday 3 March Saturday 16 February Time: 10am – 3pm Time: 10am – 4pm Cost: £40 Cost: £20 Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 35
YESTERDAY'S STORIES, TODAY'S READERS with Sheena Wilkinson Do you want to write a story set in the past? Where do you start? This course is for writers at all stages who are passionate about bringing the past to life. We’ll look at how to create characters who are of their time but accessible to today’s readers; how to conjure up vivid historical settings, and how to know when to stop researching and CAPTURING THE LANDSCAPE start storytelling. The course is suitable for with GEORGE GOURLEY those writing for adults and younger readers. Join experienced watercolour tutor George Sheena Wilkinson, described in The Irish Gourley in this hands-on one-day Times as ' one of our foremost writers ' has watercolour course where you will explore won many awards for her fiction, most the local area through art. Bring along a recently the CBI Honour Award for Fiction for photograph of a home place or use one of Star By Star, published to commemorate the George’s examples to create a stunning centenary of women’s suffrage. Her first piece of watercolour art using limited historical novel, Name Upon Name (2015), colours. considers the Easter Rising from a northern This course is suitable for beginners or more perspective. Her historical short fiction has experienced artists and is for participants been anthologised in The Great War (Walker, aged 16 years and upwards. All materials will 2014) and Female Lines (2017), as well as be provided. winning and being shortlisted for several awards. Saturday 6 April Saturday 9 March Time: 10am – 3pm Time: 11am – 5pm Cost: £30 Cost: £30 36 seamusheaneyhome.com
At a Glance JANUARY Saturday 5 January I 7pm A Joycean Epiphany (Molly & The Dead) £12 (including refreshments) Saturday 12 January I 2pm More Music, Poems and Songs for the Soul £8 Tuesday 22 January I 7.30pm An Evening with Willy Vlautin £12 FEbRUARY Saturday 2 February I 8pm So Sing On with David Kitt £15 Friday 8 February I 7.30pm The Suitcase £10 Saturday 9 February I 3pm Anne Enright in Conversation £15 Friday 15 February I 7.30pm ‘Fire Made Flesh’ with Dr Carolyne Larrington £8 Saturday 16 February I 3pm ‘Getting Started, Keeping Going’: Emerging Voices £8 Saturday 16 February I 10am – 4pm The Power of Words with Michelle Gibb £20 Saturday 23 February I 3pm Roddy Doyle in Conversation £15 Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 37
MARCH Saturday 2 March I 10am – 3pm Woven Willow Irish Hares £40 Saturday 2 March I 8pm Ulster Orchestra £12 Sunday 3 March I 10am – 3pm Woven Willow Irish Hares £40 Thursday 7 March I 7.30pm The Iconic World of Faber Cover Design £10 Saturday 9 March I 11am – 5pm Yesterday’s Stories, Today’s Readers £30 Saturday 9 March I 3pm The Whetstone: Maura Johnston book Launch Tickets free, but must be booked in advance Saturday 16 March I 8pm An Evening with Arborist & special guests Malojian & Conor Mason £12.50 Thursday 21 March I 7.30pm Desert Island Poems £10 Saturday 23 March I 3pm Fictional Lives: Frank McGuinness in conversation with Nuala O’Connor £12 Friday 29 March I 8pm The Long Now £10 Saturday 30 March I 7.30pm Female Lines: Women Writers and Post-Agreement Northern Ireland £10
APRIL Friday 5 April I 7.30pm An Evening with Carol Ann Duffy £17.50 Saturday 6 April I 10am – 3pm Capturing the Landscape with George Gourley £30 Saturday 6 April I 11am LifeCycle Tour with Eugene Kielt £12 Saturday 6 April I 7.30pm The World’s Wife with bronagh Gallagher, Susan Lynch and special guests £20 Tuesday 23 April I 9.30am & 12.30pm Pop-Up Picture Workshops £20 Tuesday 23 April I 3pm Paddington 2 £5/£3 concession Friday 26 April I 8pm John Kelly with special guest Loah £10 Saturday 27 April I 2pm David Mitchell in Conversation with John Kelly £15 Saturday 27 April I 8pm So Sing On with Luka bloom £15 SPECIAL WEEKEND TICKET PRICE £30 Special weekend ticket price for John Kelly/ David Mitchell/ Luka bloom applies when all three events are booked together Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444 39
Seamus Heaney HomePlace 45 Main Street Bellaghy BT45 8HT T: +44 (0)28 7938 7444 E: SeamusHeaneyHome@midulstercouncil.org
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